Stars, lightning and glowing blue waves: Stunning photo shows Big Sur waterfall at night
When an extreme heat wave hit California, Oakland resident Joseph Chang knew he had the perfect opportunity to photograph the night skies above Big Sur.
“The coast during the summertime, as many people know, it’s either going to be sunny during the day and then foggy in the evening, or it’s going to be foggy all day,” Chang, 27, said.
But with high temperatures affecting both the coast and the inland areas, Chang said he knew that the ocean fog would be further away from the coast through the night.
On Saturday, Chang drove three hours from his home in Oakland to McWay Falls in Big Sur, an 80-foot-tall waterfall that, during high tide, is only one of two tidefalls in California.
Chang captured about six separate photos starting at around 10 p.m. to create one composite image, he said.
It shows a timelapse of several lightning bolts south of Big Sur as well the Milky Way galaxy and bioluminescent ocean waves created by an algal bloom of phytoplankton in the water. McWay Falls can be seen crashing down on the beach.
Chang stitched the photos together using Photoshop when he got home, which took about three hours, he said.
“I was just so excited,” Chang said. “When I took the photos, I could just tell this was one of those special moments that I had to get it done and make it happen. And I’m super glad I did.”
Chang said he used a long exposure shot and his camera’s ISO sensitivity to capture the glowing blue waves and shining stars, leaving the camera’s shutter open for a long period.
Photography is just a hobby for Chang, who works as a engineer for a Bay Area 3D printing company, but it’s a pastime he cherishes.
“With photography, you can capture these super inspiring scenes and evoke a kind of awe that you can only experience when you’re either there of if you can capture that moment and share that moment,” he said. “I find the act of doing this — chasing a photo and going out and capturing it — as sort of a meditation, a Zen thing to do for myself.”
This story was originally published August 18, 2020 at 5:00 AM.
